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Battle of Mathias Point
|result =Confederate victory |combatant1 = United States (Union) |combatant2 = CSA (Confederacy) |commander1 =James H. Ward James C. ChaplinOne source gives his name as "Chapman" but other sources and a copy of his own report of the engagement give it as Chaplin. J. P. K. Mygatt |commander2 =Daniel Ruggles J. M. Brockenbrough R. M. Mayo |strength1 =about 36–50 plus gunboat crew |strength2 =about 400–500 |casualties1 =1 killed 4 wounded |casualties2 =Reported: none |campaignbox = }} The Battle of Mathias Point, Virginia was an engagement between the Union gunboats and , together with a landing party of about 36 Union sailors or marines, and Confederate States Army defenders at Mathias Point on the Potomac River in King George County, Virginia, near Maryland's Popes Creek. The action occurred on June 27, 1861, in the third month of the American Civil War, before significant battles, other than the Battle of Fort Sumter, had taken place. The Confederates repulsed the Union attack and killed the commander of the Union Potomac Flotilla, Commander James H. Ward. Ward was the first Union Navy officer killed during the Civil War. The battle at Mathias Point was an early action in connection with the blockade by the Union Navy of the Southern states in general and the Chesapeake Bay in particular and the corresponding effort by Confederate forces to deny the use of rivers in Virginia, including the Potomac River, to Union military and commercial traffic. The Confederates completed placement of an artillery battery at this location immediately after the battle and maintained their position until the Confederate withdrawal from Manassas on March 9, 1862, at the beginning of the Union Army buildup for the Peninsula Campaign. Background On April 15, 1861, the day after the small U.S. Army garrison surrendered Fort Sumter in the harbor Charleston, South Carolina to Confederate forces, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to reclaim federal property and to suppress the rebellion begun by the seven Deep South slave states which had formed the Confederate States of America. Four Upper South states which also permitted slavery, including Virginia, refused to furnish troops for this purpose and began the process of secession from the Union.Hansen, Harry. The Civil War: A History. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961. . p. 48 On April 17, 1861, a convention in Richmond, Virginia, immediately passed an ordinance providing for Virginia's secession from the Union and authorized the governor to call for volunteers to join the military forces of Virginia to defend the state against Federal military action.Scharf, John Thomas. [http://books.google.com/books?id=ADMOAAAAIAAJ History of the Confederate States Navy From Its Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel]. New York: Rogers & Sherwood, 1887, p. 39. . Retrieved February 1, 2011 The Virginia Secession Convention made the act of secession subject to a vote of the people of the state on May 23, 1861, but the actions of the convention and Virginia political leaders, especially Governor John Letcher, had effectively taken Virginia out of the union.Hansen, 1961, p. 34 In view of developments in Virginia, President Lincoln also did not wait for the vote of the people of Virginia on secession to take action as if Virginia already had joined the Confederacy. On April 27, 1861, he extended the blockade of the Southern states that he had declared on April 19, 1861, to include the ports of Virginia and North Carolina.Long, E. B. and Barbara Long. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. . p. 66 Battle In late June 1861, Commander James H. Ward, commander of the Union Potomac Flotilla, learned that the Confederates were installing a battery on a wooded promontory at Mathias Point in King George County, Virginia, that would effectively control traffic on the Potomac River at that point. This not only could prevent men and supplies from moving to and from Washington, D.C. via the Potomac River but would permit communication between Confederate forces and Confederate sympathizers in southern Maryland across the river or even permit a Confederate raid into Maryland. On June 27, 1861, Ward took his flagship, the USS Thomas Freeborn, along with the USS Reliance and a company of sailors or marinesLossing, Benson John and Woodrow Wilson. [http://books.google.com/books?id=6ghQAAAAYAAJ Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History from 458 A.D. to 1902: Based on the Plan of Benson John Lossing, LLD]. Volume 1. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1902. . Retrieved May 4, 2011. pp. 368–369 describes the landing party as "marines." Other sources identify them as sailors or simply as men from the [[USS Pawnee (1859)|USS Pawnee]]. under Lieutenant James C. ChaplinAlso shown in the Official Records as J. Crossan Chaplin. to attack the Confederate position, to remove trees from the location so that the Confederates could not hide a battery on the point and instead to put a Union battery at the point.Confederate Colonel Daniel Ruggles reported that the Thomas Freeborn was accompanied by two tugs with three boats lowered and a large launch. Ruggles, Daniel. [http://books.google.com/books?id=3iwUAAAAYAAJ Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 9]. By Southern Historical Society, Virginia Historical Society. J. William Jones, ed. Richmond, VA: Wm. Ellis Jones, 1881. Daniel Ruggles June 30, 1861 report and 1878 addendum. p. 497. Chaplin's report stated he had 23 men and two "cutters" from the USS Pawnee but also mentioned a third cutter which was used in the second withdrawal of his force under fire. Ruggles, 1881, p. 499. When the Thomas Freeborn arrived at Mathias Point at about 10:00 a.m. according to some sources and 1:00 p.m. according to others, its crew began to bombard the woods in order to give cover to Lieutenant Chaplin's landing party.Wilstach, Paul. [http://books.google.com/books?id=CMULAAAAYAAJ Potomac Landings]. Volume 1. Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. . Retrieved April 30, 2011. p. 338. Wilstach says there were 50 men in the landing party. He says there were 15 companies of defenders in the vicinity. Union skirmishers immediately became engaged with Confederate skirmishers and drove them back. The landing party worked at establishing a position for artillery, which they had brought on the boats with them but had not yet brought ashore.Ruggles, 1881, p. 497 Soon, 400 to 500 Confederate soldiers arrived and began to move against and fire upon the small Union force.Lossing, Benson John and William Barritt. [http://books.google.com/books?id=gmvkkyCLMv8C Pictorial History of the Civil War in the United States of America], Volume 1. Philadelphia, George W. Childs, 1866. . Retrieved May 1, 2011. p. 527. Ward initially had accompanied the landing party, but he quickly returned to the Thomas Freeborn in order to direct more firing of the ship's cannon at the location of the Confederate force when they began their counterattack. Lt. Chaplin evacuated his party to their small boats after the initial Confederate approach in force. The cannon fire from the Thomas Freeborn beat back the counterattack. Ward ordered Chaplin to land again and throw up sand bag breastworks when the firing from the Thomas Freeborn temporarily quieted the Confederate force. After coming under fire from the Thomas Freeborn, Colonel Ruggles ordered that his men, under the immediate command of Colonel J. M. Brockenbrough, approach through the forest where the Union force was at work in order not to expose the men to fire over an open field. This delayed their further counterattack. Meanwhile, Chaplin and his small force hastily completed the construction of the small breastwork and after trying to hide the exact location of the work with branches, again began to withdraw from the shore about 5:00 p.m. in order to retrieve their artillery. At this time, the Confederates, further supported by four companies of men under the command of Major R. M. Mayo, renewed their counterattack against the Thomas Freeborn and against the landing party, which was moving toward the boats.Ruggles, 1881, p. 498Lossing, 1902, p. 369 Heavily outnumbered and under fire, Chaplin and his men were unable to retrieve and unload their guns for the battery and were forced to withdraw completely.Lossing, Benson John and William Barritt. [http://books.google.com/books?id=gmvkkyCLMv8C Pictorial History of the Civil War in the United States of America], Volume 1. Philadelphia, George W. Childs, 1866. . Retrieved May 1, 2011. pp. 527–528. Chaplin and one other member of his party were the last to withdraw.Maclay, Edgar Stanton. [http://books.google.com/books?id=EtdCAAAAIAAJ A History of the United States Navy, from 1775 to 1894], Volume 2. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1895. . Retrieved May 1, 2011. p.234 Chaplin personally saved this man who was unable to swim to the small landing boats, which had already shoved off, by carrying him out to the closest boat. In the meantime, after the gunner on the Thomas Freeborn was wounded, Commander Ward was shot through the abdomen by a rifle shot while trying to sight the ship's gun and died after about 45 minutes. His mortal wounding unsettled the crew of the Thomas Freeborn and they fired no more rounds in support of Chaplin's force even though they had not fully withdrawn to the Thomas Freeborn and the Reliance. Ward was the only member of the Union force killed at the battle, although four others were badly wounded.Ruggles, 1881, pp. 499–500. Ward was the first Union Navy officer killed during the Civil War. Aftermath The Confederates continued to hold their position and operate the battery on Mathias Point, which they completed placing on the point on the day after the battle. They were not attacked by land forces and did not abandon the location and nearby batteries until Confederate forces withdrew from Manassas and other northern Virginia locations on March 9, 1862 in order to protect Richmond from Union forces which were being deployed for the Peninsula Campaign.Parker, William H. [http://books.google.com/books?id=3MFYAAAAMAAJ Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History, Volume 12, The Confederate States navy]. 12 vols. Evans, Clement A., ed. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. . Retrieved January 20, 2011Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8117-2868-4. p. 15 Commander (later Vice Admiral) Stephen Clegg Rowan, captain of the USS Pawnee, temporarily succeeded Commander Ward as the commander of the Potomac Flotilla. He went on to participate in the actions against the Confederate forts at Hatteras Inlet in the fall of 1861 and was succeeded as commander of the Potomac Flotilla by Captain (later Rear Admiral) Thomas Tingey Craven. Fort Ward in Alexandria, Virginia, was named in honor of Commander Ward. Fort Ward, which was one of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the Civil War, was completed in September 1861. The fort has been largely restored and serves as a museum and historic park.City of Alexandria, Virginia Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site web site. Retrieved May 2, 2011. Notes References * Barnes, James. [http://books.google.com/books?id=WMcLAAAAIAAJ The Photographic History of the Civil War in Ten Volumes: Volume 6: The Navies]. Miller, Francis Trevelyan, Robert S. Lanier, and James Verner Scaife, eds. New York: Review of Reviews Co., 1911. . Retrieved May 1, 2011. * Fredriksen, John C. [http://books.google.com/books?id=BZ3nGcFySHUC Civil War Almanac]. New York: Facts on File, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8160-6459-5. * Hansen, Harry. The Civil War: A History. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961. . * Long, E. B. and Barbara Long. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. . * Lossing, Benson John and Woodrow Wilson. [http://books.google.com/books?id=6ghQAAAAYAAJ Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History from 458 A.D. to 1902: Based on the Plan of Benson John Lossing, LLD]. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1902. Volume 1. . Retrieved May 4, 2011. * Lossing, Benson John and William Barritt. [http://books.google.com/books?id=gmvkkyCLMv8C Pictorial History of the Civil War in the United States of America, Volume 1]. Philadelphia, George W. Childs, 1866. . Retrieved May 1, 2011. * Maclay, Edgar Stanton. [http://books.google.com/books?id=EtdCAAAAIAAJ A History of the United States Navy, from 1775 to 1894], Volume 2. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1895. . Retrieved May 1, 2011. * Neeser, Robert Wilden. [http://books.google.com/books?id=BucbAQAAMAAJ Statistical and Chronological History of the United States Navy, 1775-1907], Volume 2. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1909. . Retrieved April 22, 2011. * Ruggles, Daniel. [http://books.google.com/books?id=3iwUAAAAYAAJ Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 9]. By Southern Historical Society, Virginia Historical Society. J. William Jones, ed. Richmond, VA: Wm. Ellis Jones, 1881. Daniel Ruggles June 30, 1861 report and 1878 addendum. pp. 496–500. * Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8117-2868-4. * Scharf, John Thomas. [http://books.google.com/books?id=ADMOAAAAIAAJ History of the Confederate States Navy From Its Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel]. New York: Rogers & Sherwood, 1887. . Retrieved February 1, 2011. * Wilstach, Paul. [http://books.google.com/books?id=CMULAAAAYAAJ Potomac Landings]. Volume 1. Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. . Retrieved April 30, 2011 External links *City of Alexandria, Virginia Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site web site. Retrieved May 2, 2011. Category:Battles of the Chesapeake Bay Blockade of the American Civil War Category:Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Category:Confederate victories of the American Civil War Category:King George County, Virginia Category:Naval battles of the American Civil War Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Virginia Category:Conflicts in 1861 Category:1861 in Virginia